California Cookbook

Savory bread pudding with sausage gravy

Mel Melcon / Los Angeles Times

By Noelle Carter | Aug. 29, 2014

“Brunch is cheerful, sociable and inciting,” wrote Guy Beringer in Britain’s 1895 Hunter’s Weekly, in an article titled “Brunch: A Plea.” “It is talk-compelling. It puts you in a good temper, it makes you satisfied with yourself and your fellow ...
Read more

Step 1In a large sauté pan, melt the butter and oil over medium-high heat. Add the onion and cook, stirring frequently, until the onion is softened and just beginning to color, 8 to 10 minutes. Stir in the mushrooms and continue to cook, stirring frequently, until the mushrooms soften and begin to give up their moisture. Continue cooking until most of the liquid has evaporated from the mushrooms and both the mushrooms and onions are a rich golden.

Step 2Remove the pan from the heat and add the wine. Return the skillet to the heat and stir, scraping any flavoring from the bottom of the pan, until the wine is absorbed, 2 to 3 minutes. Remove from heat, stir in the thyme and season with one-half teaspoon salt and one-fourth teaspoon of pepper, or to taste. Set aside.

Step 3In a large bowl, whisk together the eggs and egg yolks. Beat in the half-and-half, then stir in the mushroom mixture. Stir in the bread cubes, then the cheese. Place the bread pudding base into a greased 13-by-9-inch baking dish or casserole. Cover loosely and refrigerate the mixture until ready to bake, up to overnight.

Step 4Heat the oven to 375 degrees. Remove the baking dish from the refrigerator to warm slightly as the oven heats.

Step 5Bake the bread pudding, uncovered, until the pudding is well-puffed and the topping is golden, about 45 minutes. Serve immediately, with the prepared sausage gravy on the side.

Sausage gravy

1 pound loose breakfast or country pork sausage, crumbled

1 tablespoon butter

1 small onion, finely diced

3 cloves garlic, minced

1/2 teaspoon black pepper, more if desired

1/8 teaspoon red pepper flakes, optional

1/4 cup flour

4 cups half-and-half

1 1/2 teaspoons fresh thyme

Salt, to taste

Step 1In a dry skillet, cook the sausage over medium-high heat until the fat is rendered and the sausage is golden brown, about 10 minutes. Strain the sausage, leaving the fat in the pan. Add the butter and onion, and cook, stirring frequently, until the onion is softened, 6 to 8 minutes.

Step 2Stir in the garlic, black pepper and red pepper flakes. Slowly stir in the flour, mixing well to avoid any lumps. Slowly add the half-and-half, whisking well to avoid lumps. Bring the mixture to a gentle simmer and cook, uncovered, for about 20 minutes to cook out the raw flour taste and thicken the gravy. Stir frequently to prevent the flour from settling and scorching on the bottom of the pan.

Step 3About 5 minutes before the gravy is ready, stir in the sausage and fresh thyme. Taste and adjust the seasoning as desired with salt and pepper. This makes about 4 cups of gravy.

“Brunch is cheerful, sociable and inciting,” wrote Guy Beringer in Britain’s 1895 Hunter’s Weekly, in an article titled “Brunch: A Plea.” “It is talk-compelling. It puts you in a good temper, it makes you satisfied with yourself and your fellow beings, it sweeps away the worries and cobwebs of the week.”

Of course, what’s not to love about a late-morning meal? Be it on a Sunday or holidays, brunch is a great way to share leisurely time with family or friends over a hearty spread. Not to mention it’s also a great way to recuperate after a late night. (I’m certainly not one to judge.)

When I know I’ll be hosting a brunch, I like to prepare as much in advance to keep things simple in the morning, fuzzy brain or not. Why make things harder than they have to be?

One of my go-to dishes is a big platter of maple bacon cinnamon rolls. They’re like traditional cinnamon rolls but a little bigger, with a sweet maple syrup mixture brushed on a soft, yeasted dough before rolling. Sprinkle on a generous amount of crumbled bacon, then roll the dough up and cut the individual portions.

What’s great about this dish is you can prepare it up to this point and refrigerate it until ready to bake. Make them the day before, if you’d like, then take them out first thing in the morning, when you’re nursing your first cup of coffee, to warm them up slightly before baking. Out of the oven, drizzle them with a rich cream cheese glaze and you’re ready to serve.

Another great option is a savory bread pudding, which also can be prepared the night before. Make a custard base, folding in sautéed mushrooms and onions, fresh thyme, large cubes of French bread and grated Gruyère cheese. Make the dish up to this point, then cover and refrigerate until ready for action; this will give the bread cubes time to soften and soak up some of that custard base. Then simply uncover and bake until golden brown. It’s rich and fragrant, so your guests might never guess it’s vegetarian. But if you’d like to gild the lily, serve the bread pudding with a bowl of thick sausage gravy.

For my pious friends, I keep a batch of homemade granola for parfaits. If you’ve never made granola, it’s incredibly simple. Though the combination can vary to suit your tastes, I typically combine a few cups of rolled oats with nuts, flaked coconut, a touch of spice, brown sugar and maple syrup to sweeten, and a little oil for richness and to help the granola roast up nicely. Then spread the granola out onto a rimmed baking sheet and place it in the oven until golden brown, tossing occasionally for even coloring.

Serve the granola with yogurt and colorful summer fruit, and you have a dish that’s both beautiful and virtuous. Everyone’s happy.